Angel On Your Shoulder
by Bionic Egypt
Summary: Pitch isn't afraid of much, but there is one thing he's scared of: Ava, the spirit of choice. One would think that the Nightmare King could handle the girl, but that isn't so easy when she's the most annoying being he has ever met. And now she's living with him. What could go wrong?
1. Angel On Your Shoulder

**Disclaimer: All I own is Ava. Thanks and enjoy **_**Angel On Your Shoulder**_**. (Yes, I know that's the story's name, but it's also the name of the first chapter. Get over it.)**

* * *

Angel On Your Shoulder

* * *

A strange little girl

Between Heaven and Hell

Knowing what she knows

Never can end well

She's the angel on your shoulder

She's the devil that it fights

She's that little blazing fire

You see in endless nights

* * *

Centuries ago she awoke with naught but a name. Ava, she knew. She wandered the world for years before she realized why no one could ever see her. Ava was a spirit, and an unusual one at that. Every spirit but her was created to be good or evil. She didn't have that luxury.

Ava was both and neither at the same time. She discovered that her special purpose in life was to give the humans choice and the will to make their decisions. Ava was both the angel and the devil on the people's shoulders, helping them along their chosen paths. But Ava soon realized that being both good and evil meant something very strange.

* * *

A strange little girl

Cloaked in white and red

She watches as you go

And rest your weary head

She's the devil on your shoulder

She's the angel by your side

In the light she'll play

And in the shadows she'll hide

* * *

Ava discovered over the years that she existed differently in the light and the dark. During the day and in the light of the full moon, Ava was good. She would play with the children and help them to make kind choices. But at night and in the darkest shadows, Ava became the devil on their shoulder, helping them to make nasty decisions that might hurt others. She tried desperately to stay in the light as much as possible; who wanted to be cruel?

For almost four centuries it worked. Ava would hide away at night, unless it was a full moon, and she never _ever_ went into a dark shadow. The few spirits that did see her only saw her good side. They saw the innocent blonde girl with the trusting green-blue eyes, not the devilish little trouble maker with the mischievous dark irises.

But then Ava met Pitch Black.

* * *

A strange little girl

Halo askew on her head

Tattered wings and a pitchfork

White dress stained red

She's the angel on your shoulder

She's the devil in disguise

From the clouds of Heaven she'll fall

From the depths of Hell she'll rise

* * *

It had been by pure accident, really. Ava had been flying along when something knocked her bright red pitchfork out of her hands. Even though it landed in the shade of a huge tree, Ava didn't think twice about soaring down to pick it up. But the second her hand wrapped around it, Ava was swallowed by the darkness.

When she came to, she was in a gloomy place she didn't recognize. The fallen angel could feel the shadows transforming her kind nature into something dark, but she knew that the only way out was to explore. So after clutching her pitchfork tightly –the points could skewer anything they needed to –Ava set out on foot.

The place she was in was definitely creepy, but in her darkened state Ava didn't mind. Massive cages hung from the ceiling, and some of the floors seemed to tilt at an odd angle, as though they were only there to confuse people. Ava was about to soar off through one of the skylights she noticed when she felt the pull of an indecisive being. She spread her grey tattered wings and took to the air, now intent on finding the poor soul she had to help.

When she finally found him, she was startled. The man standing in front of her was even darker than the shadows around him. His skin was the same shade as her wings, his hair and robes darker than a moonless night, and his eyes . . . His eyes were a piercing gold that seemed to stare right into Ava's soul. That's when she realized something: he could see her!

"Who are you?" the man questioned, as though he didn't care but was just asking to be polite. Ava was a bit wary, but answered anyway. She _was_ trespassing, after all.

"I'm Ava, the spirit of choice," she introduced herself with a twisted smirk.

The man gave a thin-lipped smile. "I believe I have heard of you before, Ava, once long ago."

"Who are you?" Ava asked, curiosity starting to overwhelm her.

"I am fear itself. I am the source of every nightmare and unsettling shadow in the dark. I am the fierce Nightmare King. I am Pitch Black," he stated proudly.

"Never heard of you," Ava told him.

Pitch sighed. "Perhaps you have heard of the boogeyman?"

Ava grinned. She'd heard of him! He was supposedly the one who scared little kids. "That's you? Cool!"

The Nightmare King frowned at the childlike spirit. "Why are you not afraid? Why can I not sense any of your fears?"

Ava laughed, earning her a glare from Pitch. "I've never been afraid of anything," she admitted. "The dark doesn't bother me, neither does the light. I don't care about being seen, I'm not afraid of heights or drowning or being buried alive. I'm just not afraid."

Pitch had never heard of anyone, spirit or otherwise, who had never feared something. How could she have gone so long without fear? Everyone had to fear something, did they not? Maybe not, Pitch admitted. If she really was what she said she was, then it was plausible she would never need to fear anything.

But now Pitch was faced with the task of getting rid of the girl.

* * *

A strange little girl

Dancing in the fires

Living with the Nightmare King

Family is all she desires

She's the devil on your shoulder

She's the angel in the light

Granting people choice

And the will to make it right

* * *

Ava came back to visit Pitch every day for almost three months before he realized he was never going to be rid of her. But instead of feeding her to the nightmares, which he had tried once –it hadn't worked and resulted in the lead nightmare being stuffed into a tutu –Pitch decided he might as well keep her around.

The next time Ava came to visit, Pitch ushered her to a room with a swirling _A_ carved onto the door. When Ava opened said door and walked into the room, she realized that it was a bedroom. Ava glanced back at Pitch, who nodded just once. Pitch had given her a room. He was offering her the chance to have a home! Ava scooped the Nightmare King into a tight hug before darting into her new bedroom to explore.

And if Pitch happened to be smiling kindly at her, Ava didn't notice.

* * *

**Okay, this wasn't even supposed to be a oneshot when I first wrote it. At first it was just a poem, but then I thought about how the character would get along with Pitch since she's not evil but she isn't good either. Then I thought about how she could annoy Pitch. And then I started coming up with a thousand different ideas for this, so it's now a series of related oneshots! I know, I need a life. Oh, and this'll start updating about once or twice a week, but there might be some weeks I don't update. I'm just warning you. Thanks for reading!**

**~C**


	2. Dreamsand

**Disclaimer: All I own is Ava. Thanks and enjoy **_**Dreamsand**_**.**

* * *

Dreamsand

"What's a dream?" Ava demanded, landing in front of Pitch.

The Nightmare King was taken aback by the girl's question. She had been living in the used-to-be-a-guest room for almost three months now, and Pitch was certain that he had never met a more annoying individual in all his existence. But how on earth did Ava not know what a dream was?

"Why do you ask?" Pitch said finally.

"I've heard a couple of people mention having weird dreams over the last four centuries," Ava commented "but I've never been able to figure out what a dream is. Now I've got someone to ask, which is you. So what's a dream?"

Was it possible that the girl had never had a dream? Even Pitch had had a dream before, though now they were either nightmares or a black nothingness.

"A dream is a series of images that play through your mind while you are asleep," Pitch explained. "Dreams can be of anything, really. Most dreams, as I have come to see, are of strange realities that people only wish were real. It's odd that the Sandman has never given you a dream."

Ava was entranced. People got to visit different worlds while they were asleep? How come she couldn't do that? And who was this Sandman guy? If he could give her a dream, then she really needed to meet him.

"Where can I find the Sandman?" Ava asked with the curiosity and excitement of a young child.

"He should be flying by any minute now," Pitch mused. But he didn't get the chance to elaborate as Ava soared out the skylight as quickly as she could.

"Children," Pitch muttered. "Always rushing."

* * *

Ava searched the entire town of Burgess twice before she saw it. There was a thin line of flying golden sand soaring into a house. She followed it, hoping to find the elusive Sandman. Ava really wanted to figure out what exactly a dream was.

Eventually the sand left the house and flew back to where it came from. That must be where the Sandman was! Ava followed it to a strange little cloud made of the same sandy material. And resting on the cloud was a small little man with a small smile on his face.

Ava landed on the cloud softly behind him. The short man didn't seem to notice her. Was this the Sandman? Upon closer inspection, she noticed that the small man was made out of golden sand too. Yep, he was definitely the Sandman.

"Excuse me," Ava said politely from behind him. The man quickly turned around, shock on his face. Ava laughed at his reaction.

"Hi," she continued. "Are you the Sandman?"

The short guy nodded.

"And do you give people dreams?"

Again, the Sandman nodded.

Ava frowned. "Why aren't you speaking? Oh, are you trying to be quiet?"

The Sandman shook his head.

"Then why aren't you talking?"

An image made of the golden sand appeared over the Sandman's head. It was of a smiley face with its mouth open, as if it was talking, and an X through it. It took Ava a second or two, but she finally figured it out.

"Oh. You can't talk, can you Sandman?"

The Sandman nodded before a few words in elaborate cursive wrote themselves over his head. _Call me Sandy_.

Ava smiled. "Okay Sandy. So, I've got a question."

Sandy gestured for the girl to sit down, sensing that this was going to be a long conversation. Both the fallen angel and the dream giver sat down on the soft dreamsand before Ava asked her question.

"How come I've never had a dream?"

Sandy was admittedly shocked. He had never given her a dream? How had he managed to forget her? Sandy tried to apologize, but Ava just waved it off.

"It's okay," Ava assured him. "I was just wondering if you could explain what a dream is. I asked Pitch, but I think he left out some things."

Sandy's reaction was understandably surprised. He gestured wildly and dreamsand images flashed faster than she could see, but Ava understood the basics of what he was trying to say.

"I know Pitch isn't the nicest guy," she sighed. "But he offered me a place to stay. I've lived for four centuries without a home, so to be able to find a place where I know I've got a room means a lot to me. Besides, I can be a good influence to Pitch. I think."

Sandy laughed silently. A childlike spirit thought she could be a good influence to the Nightmare King? That was like saying Bunny wanted to help out with Christmas this year.

After a quick conversation with Ava, Sandy decided that he was going to give this girl the best dream he had ever conjured. She thanked him several times before he sent her back home with a small trail of dreamsand following her. Sandy promised that the dreamsand would give her a dream as soon as she closed her eyes to go to sleep.

Once Ava returned she rushed to her room, the golden trail of sand still following her. Pitch watched in amusement as she zoomed around, gathering her bed things and zipping into the bathroom to change. Once Ava was ready for bed, she dove under the covers and rested on her side. Since she had wings, she couldn't exactly sleep on her back. The fallen angel closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.

The second that she fell asleep, the dreamsand drifted over her head and twisted into a beautiful dream.

* * *

Ava was standing in the center of a brightly lit clearing. She laughed, though it came out almost as a sob. This was where she had first woken up as a spirit. This was the first place she had ever been.

A light breeze rushed past her, lifting her wings slightly. Ava felt as though the wind wanted to play. She spread her huge wings and took to the skies, flying over the lush clearing.

The wind seemed to laugh along with her as she flew. After what seemed like forever and no time at all, Ava started to run out of energy. She landed beside the crystal pond and reached down to scoop up a handful of water. But as she was, Ava saw her reflection.

Ava's hair was pure blonde, but when she was good she normally had red streaks in it, though when she was bad she had black streaks. Her eyes were pure blue, while they were normally green-blue or dark brown. And her wings . . . Ava's wings were a soft white.

She gasped in shock. She didn't look like this! What had Sandy done to her? It was like someone had taken every drop of darkness out of her. Ava grinned at her reflection.

"I'm good," she whispered joyfully.

Her words eventually caught up to her. Ava was good! Ava had only been fully good twice in her entire existence. Even in the light she still had a bit of darkness in her, just as in the dark she still had a flicker of light inside.

"_I'm good!_" she laughed, launching herself back into the sky.

* * *

Outside the sleeping girl's mind, Pitch was watching her dream with amusement. Who would have guessed that Ava's dream was to be truly good? Certainly not him.

When the dreamsand left just after dawn, Ava slowly awoke to see Pitch standing at the edge of her room. Why was he here? Had she annoyed him again? (Well, it wasn't too hard for Ava to annoy Pitch, but she knew when she went too far.)

"Pitch?" Ava yawned. "What's wrong?"

Pitch seemed to snap out of whatever state he was in. "Nothing's wrong," he assured her. "I was just curious as to what you would dream about."

"Oh."

And . . . cue awkward moment.

After a few seconds of just sitting there, Ava decided to get Pitch to leave. She reached to the side of her bed and grabbed her halo off the hook she had set up. Contrary to what people might think, Ava didn't sleep in her halo. It normally floated a few inches above her head, so sleeping in it would be awkward, especially since Ava sometimes tossed and turned in her sleep.

Pitch realized that the girl was going to get up and dressed, so he quickly fled the room. Ava grinned. A lot had happened last night, hadn't it? Ava had had her first ever dream.

And that meant more to her than she would ever be able to say.

* * *

**So Ava's had a dream. And now she knows Sandy. What'll happen next? Tune in next time to find out. Thanks for reading!**

**~C**


	3. Nightmare Before Christmas

**Disclaimer: All I own is Ava. Thanks and enjoy **_**Nightmare Before Christmas**_**.**

* * *

Nightmare Before Christmas

Ava had been living with Pitch for almost a year and a half by then, and they were still getting used to living with each other. Ava still had to remember where she was when she woke up and Pitch had to remember that someone else was living in his house. There had been some times when Ava would walk into the kitchen and scare the hell out of Pitch. But this day was different. Ava had heard of something on her way home that would change a lot.

* * *

"Why don't we have a Christmas tree?" she demanded as she touched onto the floor, skipping the hello.

"Why would you want a Christmas tree?" Pitch questioned. He had never celebrated the holiday, not to his knowledge anyway.

"Christmas is next week, and we haven't even decorated yet!" Ava protested. "Everyone else has been done for weeks now. I was almost blinded by a display somewhere in Jersey yesterday. Pitch, we've got to decorate! What will Santa say if he comes and we haven't decorated?"

Pitch almost choked on his shock. Ava thought Nicholas St. North was going to come to their home? Why on earth would the Guardian of Wonder visit them? Pitch asked the girl, though he wasn't prepared for her reaction.

"Contrary to what I normally tell you, I _am_ still a child. And as a child who believes in Santa Claus, I think I'm right by saying that he should come and visit on Christmas Eve, don't you?"

Pitch sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Ava was insistent, was she not? Eventually he sat her down and explained the entire situation to the girl, just to shut her up.

"The man you call Santa is actually a Guardian named North," he told her. "Yes, he brings children presents on Christmas Eve, but he might skip over this home."

"Why?! I've been good this year. Well, goodish," she amended, a bit upset at what Pitch had told her.

Pitch sighed. How was he to explain his old rivalry with the Guardians?

"Ava, the Guardians and I have been fighting for centuries. They hate me and I hate them. By extension, they might hate you as well. Don't be offended if St. North skips this house."

Pitch would never admit it, but he was growing attached to the girl. He remembered his daughter, Seraphina, and how she had been as a young child and felt as though he had to make up for not being with her somehow. Ava was just filling a void.

* * *

Ava sat down at the desk in her bedroom and stared at the blank sheet of paper. She was determined to get North to stop at her house. And the only way the spirit knew how to do that was to write him a letter.

_Dear Mr. Nicholas St. North,_

_Pitch told me your real name is North, but he might have been lying. I'm sorry if I got it wrong. Maybe I should explain what's going on so you'll know why I'm writing so close to Christmas. That way you might be persuaded to stop by. Not that I want anything for Christmas though. I just want to know that you've been here_.

_I'm almost four hundred and five years old, but I look and act like a fourteen year old. Yeah, I know that I'm probably way older than the kids you normally visit, but could you please overlook that? Anyway, I've been living with Pitch Black for a year and a half now. He's letting me stay in what used to be a guest room, so now I'm not homeless anymore_.

_I'm the spirit of choice, which means I go around and help people make up their mind. I don't usually influence their decision, but there have been times when I had to. Random note: I heard that you have yetis that work for you, but I always thought it was the elves that made the toys. Do they?_

_If I could have anything for Christmas, I would please like a doll. Not just any doll, but a porcelain doll in a red and white gown with red-streaked blonde hair and green blue eyes. She could also have grey angel wings. If it's not too much trouble, could you please bring a doll like that on Christmas Eve? If I made the nice list, I mean. I don't really expect much. But even if you just read this letter and stop by for a visit I'd be happy_.

_Merry Christmas –Ava_

Ava reread her note and nodded to herself. That would work. Maybe North would stop by on Christmas Eve.

* * *

The next day, North was sitting in his private office when he noticed a sealed letter on his desk. Thinking that one of the yetis had left it there –they always brought him the oddest letters they received –he opened it up and read the note.

When he was done, the Cossack was admittedly confused. How had none of the Guardians heard of a child-spirit living with Pitch? Why had she moved in with him? The boogeyman was not one to be taken lightly.

But then again, in the letter Ava had been kind and considerate. She hadn't asked for much, just a doll. North had a suspicion that she wanted it to look like herself, but he didn't think much of it. Most female children wanted a doll like that at one point in their life.

One thing was certain. North had another stop on Christmas Eve.

* * *

Twas the night before Christmas

And all through the house

Every shadow was stirring

Scaring even the mouse

"Sorry buddy," Ava cooed as she scooped up the tiny critter. "Did the big mean Nightmares scare you?"

After she sat the mouse down near the way out of the house, she rounded on the Nightmares.

"Shame on you!" she scolded. "He was just trying to get home and you went and scared him!"

The Nightmares back away from her, remembering when their leader had been put in a sparkly tutu the last time they had crossed her. Soon after she finished yelling at them, they vanished into the shadows.

* * *

The stockings were hung

On the cages with care

In hopes that St. North

Soon would be there

"This is ridiculous," Pitch stated.

"If you're gonna do it, do it right," Ava retorted, hanging up their stockings. Pitch had huge cages dotting their home, so Ava was taking advantage of them to hang up the colorful socks.

"I don't see why you made me a stocking," he argued.

"Because I wanted to," the fallen angel retorted, flying back down to ground level.

* * *

Pitch started cursing

And then he just snapped

Finally he got Ava

To settle down for a nap

"Go to sleep."

"No."

"Go to sleep."

"No."

"Go to sleep!"

"No!"

"GO TO SLEEP!"

Ava knew that Pitch was serious when he raised his voice so loud. Without another word, she crawled underneath the covers and bid him goodnight.

"Night Pitchy," she yawned, closing her eyes.

* * *

But then from the surface

There rose such a clatter

Ava bounded out of bed

To see what was the matter

A loud bang sounded from the surface, waking Ava. She launched out of bed, terrified that North had crashed while coming over. What if he ran into a tree just because she asked him to come on Christmas?

The fallen angel rushed toward the skylight, intent on finding out what had happened.

* * *

The Moon was too bright

On the fresh fallen snow

Ava knew it was Jack

Hadn't he heard her say no?

"Dammit Jack!" Ava grumbled when she saw the bright snow on the ground. She just wanted one Christmas where she was warm, was that too much to ask?!

* * *

But then to her right

What a thing should appear

But a massive red sleigh

And eight feral reindeer

Ava saw a huge red sleigh soar down from the sky and land not twenty feet away from the entrance to her home. The reindeer looked like they would kill you as soon as look at you, they were that frightening. Ava felt a small smirk creep up on her face.

Awesome.

* * *

He was dressed all in fur

From his head to his toes

And Ava thought certainly

"Doesn't Santa have better clothes?"

She couldn't help but think it when she saw the Russian Santa Claus. He was wearing fur of all things! Santa Claus wasn't supposed to be wearing tacky black-and-red fur! He looked awful!

Ava couldn't help but giggle, though she kept it as quiet as possible. North looked so funny!

* * *

He spoke not a word

But went straight to his work

Filling the stockings

Then turned with a jerk

North filled the red and grey stockings with candy –sweet for Ava and sour for Pitch –before he pulled a box out of his cloth bag. Ava grinned, secretly hoping that it was the doll she asked for.

North didn't seem to notice the girl standing behind him; if he did, then he didn't say anything. He made sure the gift wasn't going to fall as soon as he stepped back. Once that was done, he turned around.

* * *

North sprang to his sleigh

And to his team gave a shout

And away they all flew

Like birds just let out

North left the lair as quickly as he came, too fast for even Ava to keep up. He plopped down in the sleigh and hollered a command to his team of feral reindeer. They took to the skies, leaving Ava standing just outside of her home.

She smiled as she watched the sleigh fly up. Santa Claus had visited on Christmas. Ava must've made the nice list after all.

* * *

But Ava heard someone exclaim

As they flew out of sight

"Merry Frost-mas to all

And to all a cold night"

"Jack," Ava laughed loudly. "Quit taking other people's holidays!"

"No!" the other immoral teen called back, flying away. "Merry Frost-mas Ava!"

"Merry Christmas Jack!" she returned, heading back inside.

* * *

The next day, Ava woke Pitch up by hitting him in the head with her pitchfork. He grumbled something about 'immature children' and how Ava was 'older than America' so she should be more mature than she was acting. Ava wanted to tell him that she could be as mature as she wanted to be, but it was Christmas, and she deserved to act like a child.

She pulled the Nightmare King into the main room where she had seen North just five hours earlier. Ava thrust a darkly wrapped gift into his hands. It was a black robe with a golden hem. Pitch also got her a present. It was a grey dress with a red ribbon around the waist.

Now Ava turned her attention to the gift left by North. When she opened the box, she gasped. It was the doll she had asked for! It looked exactly like her! She hugged the doll to her chest, grinning a mile wide.

Best. Christmas. Ever.

* * *

**Tada! The ending was rushed, and I'll admit that, but other than that I think it worked. What do you think? Thanks for reading!**

**~C**


	4. Pet Tooth Fairy

**Disclaimer: All I own is Ava. Thanks and enjoy **_**Pet Tooth Fairy**_**.**

* * *

Pet Tooth Fairy

Three years passed since Ava met North –or rather, was visited by North –and everything was relatively normal for the fallen angel. Well, as normal as living with Pitch Black could possibly be. Yeah, Pitch seemed to be planning something huge, but Ava couldn't care less. She was just happy she had someone to live with –and annoy the heck out of.

One night when the moon was full, Ava was taking advantage of the moonlight to fly around her hometown –it might not have been the town she was born in, but it was the town she currently lived in –when she saw a tiny bird zipping toward an open window.

Since Ava couldn't resist her curiosity, she followed the bird. From the flash of color she saw, it was most likely a tropical bird, so what was it doing so far north? She flapped her wings faster, trying to catch up. The bird might've been a hummingbird for how fast it was flying.

When Ava finally caught up, she watched it zip in through a child's bedroom window. She followed it inside, not really worried about getting caught or waking the child –the kid didn't believe in her, so there wasn't a problem. As Ava perched onto a bright pink dresser, she watched the bird dive underneath the girl's pillow.

Wait a minute. Normal birds wouldn't fly into a house and go under a child's pillow on a whim. This wasn't a normal bird, was it? No, Ava decided as she watched the bird wiggle out from under the pillow, clutching a tooth in its very human-like hands. This wasn't a bird at all. It was a mini-tooth fairy!

Ava grinned at the fairy. It was so adorable! But before she could get a good look at it, the mini-fairy flew out of the window and up to the sky. Ava's grin turned to a frown. Great, now she had to catch up to a mini-fairy. This wasn't going to be easy.

* * *

It took about three minutes before Ava was able to catch up, which for her was a long time. She had once timed her flight across the country at forty-seven minutes, so she knew she was fast. Unfortunately, this fairy was faster.

When Ava finally caught up to the mini-fairy, she was already halfway across the state. Instead of calling out to the creature, Ava aimed her pitchfork at it and shot a blast of red mist. As the mist enveloped the fairy, it decided to land on the nearest branch. Ava flew over and got its attention.

"Are you a tooth fairy?" she asked.

The fairy chirped and nodded an affirmative. Yes, it was a tooth fairy, but who was this strange girl? She had never met a child who had wings before.

"What's your name?" Ava continued.

The mini-fairy shook its head. Mini-fairies didn't have names; they had no need for them. They could tell each other apart well enough, and their mother knew who each of them were, so why did they need names?

"You don't have a name?" Ava gasped. Why didn't the mini-fairies have names? That was awful! "Why?"

The fairy tried to explain it to Ava, but she barely grasped the general idea. Mini-fairies weren't easy to talk to. But once she understood what the creature was trying to say, she frowned.

"That's not right," she decided. "You guys should have names."

When the fairy shook its head again, Ava realized that it didn't want a name. Even though she thought it was weird, she left the subject for a different topic. About thirty minutes passed before the conversation ended and the fairy could get back to the Tooth Palace.

"Come back and see me again sometime!" Ava chirped –no pun intended. The fairy didn't answer; besides, she wasn't planning on coming back any time soon.

As the fairy flew out of sight, Ava tilted her head in thought. How hard would it be to keep one as a pet?

* * *

A week later, Ava was flying as fast as she could through the trees. She had challenged one of the nightmares to a race, and she was currently winning. But Ava misjudged the speed and angle she needed to fly at in order to avoid the tree in front of her, and she ended up crashing into it.

She quickly recovered enough to hurry down to the ground. Once there, Ava inspected herself for damage. She had crashed into enough trees to know what could happen. She had broken her arm once and it was not an experience she wanted to repeat.

Thankfully, there were only a few bruises and scrapes, less than she had expected. But then Ava felt something in her mouth. Thinking that she had accidentally gotten some bark in her mouth, Ava spit it out into her hand. But it wasn't a piece of bark.

It was a tooth.

"Aw crap!" the fallen angel groaned. This was the first time she had ever lost a tooth.

The Nightmare realized that the girl wasn't flying toward the dark lair, so it stopped beside her. It noticed the tooth in her palm and shook its head in annoyance. It had seen enough children react to losing a tooth to know that she would either scream in panic or squeal in delight. Of course, since this was Ava, she laughed happily.

"I've gotta get back home!" she announced suddenly, taking off at lightning speed. The Nightmare tried and failed to keep up with the girl. It knew that the girl had something up her sleeve.

* * *

When Ava got back to the underground lair, she hurried to her room. She didn't have much time before nightfall. She grabbed a few choice items from around the room, rushing to construct her contraption.

It took almost an hour and a half, but Ava had successfully crafted a tooth fairy trap. All she had to do was set her tooth inside and wait for the fairy. The door of the cage would snap shut when the mini-fairy picked up the tooth.

Ava yawned, knowing that it was almost time for her to go to sleep. When she woke up, she would probably have a new pet.

* * *

_CLICK!_

Ava bolted up at the sound. She glanced over to the table beside her bed and grinned. It worked! A mini-fairy was standing inside the cage, clutching the tooth. When it noticed Ava looking, she started squeaking out a torrent of exclamations and demands to be let free. But since Ava didn't speak mini-fairy, she just ignored it. Once the fairy settled down, Ava crouched in front of the cage and grinned.

"You're so cute!" she squealed. "I can't believe I've finally got a pet!"

The fairy was taken aback. Pet? This girl thought she was a pet? What would possess the girl to capture her and keep her as a pet? The mini-fairy chirped out her protest, but was promptly shushed when she noticed where she was. She was trapped in Pitch's lair.

"Okay, now be really, really quiet," Ava advised. "I need to get to sleep, and Pitch might come in and check on me. He's been doing that for a while for some reason. So if you want to go unnoticed, stay silent and still when he comes, alright?"

The mini-fairy nodded. She didn't want Pitch to know she was here. Ava tilted her head and peered at her curiously.

"You need a name," she decided. "But what?"

Ava considered a few possibilities. She was a mini-fairy. Mini –Mimi! A grin broke out across Ava's face.

"I'll call you Mimi!" she decided. "Night Mimi."

The fallen angel curled up and fell asleep, leaving the confused and frightened fairy to wait out the night in silence.

* * *

A week passed, and 'Mimi' came to understand that she might not ever be freed. It wasn't that Ava was a bad person, it was just that she was a bit naive. The girl didn't realize that mini-fairies needed to be able to fly around and collect teeth like they were supposed to.

Ava didn't know that. She just thought that Mimi was a little upset. So she tried to make her a bit happier by sprinkling some grass inside the cage and putting a dish of water in place of a pool. But nothing Ava did helped.

"Mimi? Are you okay?" Ava asked one afternoon.

She shook her head. No, Mimi wasn't okay. She needed fresh air and sunshine, not imprisonment and darkness.

"What's wrong?"

Mimi tried gesturing to outside, but Ava didn't understand. Mimi tried again and again, but nothing she did made the fallen angel realize what she was trying to say.

"Wait, can you write?" Ava asked suddenly. Mimi nodded, so Ava handed her a stub of a pencil and a scrap of paper. Mimi hurriedly scribbled her note, hoping Ava would listen to her.

_Let me out. I need to leave_.

Ava read what Mimi wanted and frowned in confusion. " . . . why?" she asked eventually.

_Mini-fairies need fresh air and freedom. We're not pets. I can't stay here_.

Ava sighed. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't realize."

Mimi felt bad for the girl, so she wrote another note for her.

_I'll come visit, but only if you let me out now_.

Ava's expression brightened considerably. "Of course! You can visit every month, and we'll play hide and seek and have races and have so much fun!"

The joy on the girl's face was infectious, and soon Mimi found herself grinned too. Ava hurriedly unlocked the cage, setting her friend free. Mimi zipped out, the girl's tooth clutched in between her hands. Since it was the middle of the day, Pitch was sound asleep, so Ava was able to sneak Mimi out of the lair without problem.

Once they were outside, Ava gave Mimi one last hug before letting the fairy go. The next time she would see the tooth fairy would be several years later, when the fairy was called Baby Tooth, but Ava would know that she was still her friend.

* * *

**So, Ava kidnapped Baby Tooth. But they're still friends. Ava didn't mean to hurt her. So . . . Oh! I'm writing a side story for this titled 'Ava's Blog.' You should really go check it out. Thanks for reading!**

**~C**


End file.
